Carrie Underwood gets political on Twitter

July 1, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 12:28 p.m.

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Carrie Underwood is shown at the 2013 CMT Music Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Underwood used Twitter to oppose the "Ag Gag" bill, that opponents claimed would have stopped investigation into animal abuse on farms, in Tennessee, reaching out directly to Gov. Bill Haslam with a boldly worded message saying if he signed it “he needs to expect me at his front door.” FRANK MICELOTTA, INVISION/AP

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Former CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien has signed on to work for the new Al Jazeera America network. DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS, GETTY IMAGES FOR STEVE & MARJORI

Carrie Underwood is shown at the 2013 CMT Music Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Underwood used Twitter to oppose the "Ag Gag" bill, that opponents claimed would have stopped investigation into animal abuse on farms, in Tennessee, reaching out directly to Gov. Bill Haslam with a boldly worded message saying if he signed it “he needs to expect me at his front door.”FRANK MICELOTTA, INVISION/AP

The country music star and former "American Idol" champion admitted 3 1/2 years ago that she was afraid to join Twitter, but since deciding to take the leap in 2011 she's embraced the social media tool in ways that go beyond fan engagement. Recently she used Twitter to oppose the "Ag Gag" bill in Tennessee, reaching out directly to Gov. Bill Haslam with a boldly worded message saying if he signed it, "He needs to expect me at his front door."

It was the first time she's taken a political stand so publicly, and it seemed to have an impact. Haslam contacted Underwood to discuss the issue and went on to veto the bill that opponents claimed would have stopped investigation into animal abuse on farms.

"He really just wanted to hear everybody's point of view, which I really respected," Underwood said in a recent interview. "So it's kind of neat that (tweet) led to that, which was really cool."

Dave Smith, spokesman for Tennessee's Republican governor, said Haslam spoke to people on both sides and that Underwood's was the only celebrity counsel he sought.

"Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a thinker and I'm a planner and I would never weigh in on anything unless I know the full story on it," Underwood said. "So I do my research."

She has 2 million Twitter followers.

O'Brien to work for Al Jazeera

Former CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien will be contributing reports to the new Al Jazeera America network when it debuts in August.

The network said Monday that O'Brien will report for the network's prime-time magazine series, "America Tonight." Al Jazeera has also made a deal with O'Brien's production company to produce hour-long documentaries.

O'Brien is pioneering a new model since leaving CNN this spring. She's actively building up her company, Starfish Media Group, in making deals with different media outlets. She has also signed on to HBO's "Real Sports" as a reporter for the sports-oriented newsmagazine and is contracted to continue making some documentaries for CNN.

Official: Rapper died of overdose

A medical examiner's investigator says Chris Kelly of the '90s rap duo Kriss Kross died of a drug overdose.

Investigator Betty Honey of the Fulton County Medical Examiner's office in Atlanta said Monday that a toxicology screening showed that Kelly, 34, had a mixture of drugs in his system when he was pronounced dead May 1. However, Honey said she did not know which specific drugs Kelly had used.

A police report says Kelly's mother told investigators that her son used cocaine and heroin the night before he died and had a history of drug abuse.

Armisen confirms exit from 'SNL'

Fred Armisen has confirmed that he has left "Saturday Night Live" after 11 years.

Arisen dispelled any doubt about his exit in an interview posted Monday by comedy website Splitsider.

"SNL" often doesn't announce its cast changes, but the show's season finale in May concluded with a farewell for Armisen and Bill Hader.

Armisen said he felt as though his departure from "SNL" was obvious considering that in his last sketch he sang, "It's been a lovely night with you," as British punk rock character Ian Rubbish. He was accompanied by several friends and musicians, including Carrie Brownstein, his co-star on the IFC sketch show "Portlandia."

Armisen says he left partly because "Portlandia" was demanding more time and because "it felt like a very healthy, good time to do it."

U.N., Davis to study women in film

The U.N. women's agency is teaming up with Academy Award winner Geena Davis to support a global study analyzing the depiction and representation of women and girls in family film.

Lakshmi Puri, acting head of UN Women, says it will be the first international study undertaken on gender representation in film, an issue that influences how women and girls are perceived, their self-esteem, and relationships between the sexes.

Davis says the dearth of female characters of substance in the media means children are being taught that girls and women "don't take up half of the space in the world."

UN Women said the study will examine the top-grossing international movies in Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

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